Medicine and Health Commons^™

The Limits Of Health Care Reform, Ani B. Satz

Faculty Articles

Part I of this Article provides a context for understanding health law in 2008. It discusses the complex relationships between the various actors, at both the federal and state levels, which affect the distribution, provision, and regulation of health care, as well as the role of technological devel­opments in these relationships. Individuals familiar with health law may choose to skip this Part.

Parts II and III address the theoretical underpinnings of basic mini­mum and rationing approaches, respectively. Part II discusses the contractarian foundations of basic minimum schemes. It focuses on the distribu­tion of health care goods as primary goods (goods …

Voices From The Street: Comics For Young Men On Masculinity, Sexuality And Hiv—An Evidence-Based Communication Initiative, Vijaya Nidadavolu, Leena Joshi, Vinita Nathani, Atanu Ghosh, Isidore Phillips

HIV and AIDS

HIV infection is spreading rapidly among young people in India. With more than 30 percent of new infections in 2006 in the 15–29-year age group, the need to address the vulnerability of this population subgroup is pressing. Existing literature shows that young men subscribe to norms of masculinity that lead to risky behavior patterns. Misinformation about HIV coupled with a low perception of risk to themselves make young men even more vulnerable. To bring about social and attitude change in the long-term, communication strategies that are evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and designed in consultation with target audiences are needed. The Population …

Adolescence In The Kibera Slums Of Nairobi, Kenya, Annabel Erulkar, James K. Matheka

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Rates of urbanization in Kenya are among the highest in the world and young people form a large proportion of those moving from rural to urban areas of the country. For many young people, the first point of entry into urban areas are the slums. Adolescents and young people make up a significant proportion of the slum-dwelling population, yet little is known about their experiences growing up in these poor urban environments. This population-based study of adolescents took place in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2006. The study explores the adolescent experience in one of Africa’s largest slum …

Uma Doença Esquecida: A Falta De Conhecimento Da Hanseníase No Brasi, Anders Gustafson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hansen’s Disease is one of the world’s most misunderstood and stigmatized illnesses. Its patients are often discriminated against, and marginalized from society. This study examines what role a fault in information regarding technical knowledge plays in perpetuating this prejudice. Data is based on interviews collected from patients, family members, and persons from the most affluent sections of society, all from the city of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil. In addition, medical professionals provide their input. This information is referenced against sociological theory and historical precedence, to examine the role society and government have played in formulating the situation today. The study concludes …

The Impact Of Immunization On The Association Between Poverty And Child Survival: Evidence From Kassena-Nankana District Of Northern Ghana, Ayaga A. Bawah, James F. Phillips, Martin Adjuik, Maya Vaughan-Smith, Bruce Macleod, Fred N. Binka

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Research conducted in Africa has demonstrated consistently that parental poverty and low educational attainment adversely affect child survival. Relative poverty has a pronounced effect on the survival of children, even in a setting where nearly all families are poor. Results from the research presented in the working paper lend strong support to the United Nations’ goal of reducing excess childhood mortality among the poor by directing a particular focus on immunization. Findings in this working paper show that the adverse effects of poverty disappear and that the effects of educational attainment are reduced in survival models that control for immunization …

Poverty, Wealth Inequality, And Health Among Older Adults In Rural Cambodia, Zachary Zimmer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper examines the distribution of household wealth and tests whether associations exist between wealth inequality and health outcomes among older adults living in one of the world’s poorest regions, rural Cambodia. Results confirm difficult economic conditions among most elderly in rural Cambodia. This study suggests there is some validity to generalizing the relationship between wealth inequality and health to extremely poor populations and that a very small difference in wealth makes a relatively large difference in regard to the association with health among those living in impoverished surroundings.

Akinbola E. Akinwumi On Sickness And Wealth: The Corporate Assault On Global Health By Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer And Oscar Gish (Eds). Cambridge: South End Press, 2004. 237pp., Akinbola E. Akinwumi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health by Meredith Fort, Mary Anne Mercer and Oscar Gish (eds). Cambridge: South End Press, 2004. 237pp.

Black Women's Health: A Content Analysis Of The Journal Of The American Medical Association, The American Journal Of Public Health, And The New England Journal Of Medicine (1989-1998), Tonia Marie Burkett

Dissertations and Theses

According to the National Vital Statistics Report (1998), Black women age 45-64 are ten times more likely than white women of the same age to die from diseases of the heart. They are five times more likely to die from diabetes. The goal of this study was to examine how articles published in leading medical journals between 1989 and 1998 accounted for such differences in health outcomes among Black and white women.

The explanatory content of the articles was analyzed and coded according to four types of attributions: genetic/biological, cultural/behavioral, structural/socioeconomic and alternative. Each type of explanation derives from different …

Effects Of Language Interpretation Services On Medical Visit Patterns Of Patients With Limited English Proficiency, Anita Marie Kay

Dissertations and Theses

Due largely to immigration, a growing proportion of the U.S. population does not speak English well enough to communicate with medical providers. Many research studies have described ways in which language differences can compromise health care quality and access for language minority groups, but professional interpreter services are rarely provided due to costs of services and to increasing cultural and linguistic diversity among patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Some researchers have argued that costs of interpreter services could be offset through enabling LEP patients to maintain better health and use health services more cost-effectively, such as obtaining care in …